TI unveils mobile on a chip

Texas Instruments has sealed a deal with Nokia which will see the mobile giant incorporate TI's Digital RF Processor (DRP) single-chip mobile phone technology into future handsets.

In development since 2002, the DRP integrates the bulk of handset electronics on a single chip, including digital baseband, SRam, logic, RF, power management and analog functions.

The first version of the single-chip offering, which sampled in December 2004 and was developed through TI's 90nm CMOS manufacturing process, targets the mass-market voice-centric marketplace.

By adopting the technology for its future mobile phones, Nokia said it hopes to increase its market share in the high-volume entry-level mobile phone sector.

As a first step, Nokia phones based on the TI offering will be marketed in high-growth regions such as India and China.

"Over two years ago, TI announced its vision to integrate DRP technology into its mobile system solutions," said Gilles Delfassy, senior vice president and general manager of the wireless terminals business unit at TI.

"With the industry's first integrated single-chip solution, TI and Nokia are bringing more affordable, advanced mobile phones to consumers worldwide."

Juha Pinomaa, vice president of entry business lines at Nokia, added: "TI's advanced DRP technology, combined with our systems expertise, will enable us to deliver smaller, sleeker handsets with the latest voice, data and multimedia capabilities without increasing size and power consumption."